Redemption
by MusicalDeleria
Summary: I know right now, at least to me this seems a little too... put together in the sequence of events for an IZ story, but don't worry, It will get better as it goes along and more true to the series.  REMADE, NEW TITLE 'BETTER THAN REVENGE'
1. Chapter 1

I walked slowly down the sidewalk, busy and bustling as it was; filled with mainly middle schoolers hurriedly escaping from the place of learning probably to go off and do idiotic things. But not me, I was in no hurry for I had no place I needed to be. I shrugged my messenger bag full of assignments and sketchbooks off and adjusted it onto the other shoulder and brushed a few long strands of golden hair from my face.  
>"Luna! Luna!" A familiar voice shouted. I felt a smile forming on my lips as I spun on my heel to face the source of the shouts.<br>I clasped my hands behind my back and smiled as I faced my best friends as he ran toward me. "Hey Dib," I said with a small wave, "Hello Gaz," I said, acknowledging his sister who walked farther behind him, eyes glued to her Game Slave 4.  
>"You're still coming over today right?" Dib asked when he finally caught up to me.<br>"When have I ever not?" I said with a grin. "But, I was hoping we could stop at FYE first; I have a bad craving for pokey and Ramune," I said sheepishly.  
>"Fine by me, besides, they might have the new documentary on extraterrestrial activity,"<br>"M'kay, hey Gaz!" I called looking over my shoulder, "You wanna come to FYE with us? They might have a new shipment of games,"  
>"Games?" She asked, looking up abruptly.<br>"Yeah, I heard they're supposed to have Pizza Zombie 4 in today,"  
>"Let's go," She said, walking ahead of us. I let out a small laugh and Dib and I followed behind, arguing who would win in a fight, Vampires or Aliens; my side was with the Vampires.<p>

"No way! Aliens have huge laser zapping spaceships! They would crush the bloodsuckers!" Dib exclaimed.  
>"Dib, in hand to hand combat, ray guns and stun lasers or not, Vampires would crush Aliens with their stealth, speed, and power," I stated, just as we arrived at our destination. Gaz had left us and was now at the back of the store scanning through the Game section.<br>"Come on Dib, I need my Japanese snack food~!" I complained, wrapping my hands around his arm and pulling him into the store.  
>"Alright, alright," Dib mumbled, allowing me to drag him over to the anime and Japanese sweets section.<br>My eyes roamed the shelves of pokey first, trying to decide what to buy. Oh! They have blueberry flavor now. I eyed the new addition of colored boxes on the shelf, already quite a few boxes were missing and I silently cursed myself for not getting here sooner; you could never find the blueberry flavor anywhere save for the Internet, and shipping was a b****.  
>" Are you gonna buy it or are you just gonna stand here and stare at it all day?" Dib asked teasingly.<br>"Yeah, yeah," I mumbled, sweeping my arm across the shelf of blue boxes, piling them into the shopping basket I'd grabbed on the way in, emptying one and a half shelves after having added a few boxes of the chocolate flavor as well. I then skipped along to the next few shelves over, pulling a second basket out from under the first and proceeding in the same pattern as the shelves previous, only much more carefully as to not damage the bottles of Ramune.  
>"Sure you got enough there?" Dib asked with a smirk.<br>I ignored him, walking to the DVD section. "Let's go get you Documentary then Alien boy," I said walking away to the middle of the store.

"What's in there? Did you buy the whole store?" Gaz asked when we met up outside of the store and noticed my 'luggage' Dib snickered, but again I ignored him.  
>"Not quite the whole store, more like a whole section," I said with a grin, "It's kinda heavy though," I mumbled.<br>"Why don't you just have Dib carry it?" She said, with a slight glare toward her brother. Dib paled at the suggestion.  
>"That's a great idea Gaz," I said with a grin to rival the Cheshire Cat's. "I'll be nice though Dib, you only have to carry one bag," I stated, "You get to carry the Ramune," I said, handing him the bag of glass bottled sodas.<br>"Thanks," He grunted.  
>"So Gaz, what games did you get?" I asked, matching my step to hers. I listened as she gave the titles, giving descriptions on each; we discussed a few of them in terms of special game actions and moves and she agreed to let me borrow a few when she was done. Soon enough she went to playing one of them on her Game Slave and I found myself looking to the sky and sometimes the occasional animal that wandered or flew by. This was probably the only reason I noticed the small mass of shimmering twisted metal glinting in the evening light. It was crumpled in an alleyway slightly ahead of us amongst broken beer bottles and tattered blankets and fabric left behind by the homeless; At first glance it would probably just look like a pile of junk or tin cans, but looking closer I made out glass eyes and mangled metal limbs.<br>"Dib, hold this please," I said softly, pushing the bag of treats into his already occupied arms.  
>"But- L-luna!" He called feebly, watching me walk to the edge of the alleyway.<br>I leaned down next to the metal thing, my knees scrunched up to my chest as I peered down on it. Leaning forward slightly I poked what looked to be the metal creatures' arm cautiously. The bright purple eyes of glass flashed, lighting up for a second at the same time that its fingers clenched and opened repeatedly like a newborn baby. I leaned back again eyeing the peculiar thing before scooping it up into my arms and standing.  
>"Luna?" Asked Dib, standing at the mouth of the alley; I could feel his concerned gaze upon me even with my back turned.<br>Turning to face him with the thing still in my arms I said simply, "I want to fix it,"

I guess saying 'I want to fix it' wasn't entirely accurate considering the amount of skill I had with fixing things.  
>Dib frowned at the table before him, laden with machinery and spare parts of shining metal, along with quite a few tools; some of which looked dangerous or even deadly. The boy at my side sighed.<br>"How am I supposed to fix this?" He mumbled. "I don't even know where to start; I never had the time to fully examine Irken technology," He growled in frustration.  
>Irken... Technology...?<br>"So there's nothing we can do for it...?" I asked sadly.  
>"I didn't say that, it's just gonna be a little more difficult," He stated, "I'm sure Zim would know how to fix it..." He mumbled, his tone turning bitter.<br>Zim... I'd heard that name before... Dib claimed him to be an alien whom he had almost daily battles with; an Invader set on ruling, or destroying the earth. He even had pictures of him scattered all across his room in his 'human disguise' along with other research materials; the subject of the photos had blue eyes and black hair, and light green tinted skin; which Dib told me the 'invader' claimed to be a skin condition. He was my friend and all but, sometimes I worried about him; this was turning into an obsession.  
>"Was it still functioning when you got to it?" He asked.<br>"Just barely,"  
>"Did it seem, Intelligent?"<br>"I can't quite say, it was only functioning for a second" I replied.  
>"This is still good though, this must be another robot like that GIR thing Zim has. But now I finally have a chance to study his technology, maybe even use what I learn to finally reveal Zim for what he really is!" He said, now excited; I raised an eyebrow at him but let him continue, "Just think of what this means! It's a huge breakthrough in my research! By studying this... robot maybe I'll even be able to find Zim's home planet if it has any sort of tracker or GPS," Dib rambled on excitedly.<br>"Alright tech boy, but don't go forgetting me when you become famous for your excellent findings," I said with a smirk. "I see there's not really anything for me to contribute here so I'll get out of your way," I said walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, grabbing a box of pokey and a bottle of Ramune before sitting down on the couch next to Gaz. Not very long afterword's I found myself lapsing into unconsciousness.

I don't remember what I dreamed about, when I woke up It was a few hours later, the cause being Dib shaking me awake.  
>"Luna, wake up," He whispered. "Luna," He said again when I still didn't stir.<br>"Mmmn... What time is it...?" I mumbled tiredly, opening my eyes halfway, my green eyes meeting Dib's gold ones.  
>"It's almost nine,"<br>"W-what? I was out that long...?" I said, abruptly sitting up straight in bed, almost bumping into Dib before he moved at the last second.  
>"Yeah, but," he started. "I have something to show you," He grinned and took my hand, pulling me to my feet and heading toward the kitchen before I had a chance to get over the rush of dizziness that came with the sudden movement.<br>"Dib, what are you-"  
>Dib placed a finger to his lips, signaling me to stay quiet before he left me standing in front of the kitchen table while he stood in front of me.<br>"Just be patient," He said, grin still in place. "You know the thing you asked me to fix earlier?"  
>"Yeah...?" I stated, oblivious to the true meaning of the question in my still tired state. "Oh!" I exclaimed, now catching on. "You…you fixed it?" I asked my voice filled with poorly hidden anticipation.<br>"See for yourself," He said, stepping aside.  
>A small gasp of surprise caught in my throat. On the table stood a small, shiny metallic body with the same vivid purple eyes that had stared at me in the alleyway; though what was before me now was a far cry from what it had been then. The small robot had a rounded cylinder shaped head with an antenna on top, the violet eyes were half lidded at the moment by silver 'eyelids' with a curved line on each to look like eyelashes. The body was shaped like an hour glass and on the stomach was a purple triangular 'door' the hands had four fingers on each hand and the feet were rounded with no toes.<br>The whole time I stood watching the robot, it was watching me, its lidded eyes slowly widening the longer it looked, possibly in recognition though I wasn't sure for I didn't know its intelligence.  
>I looked to Dib for a second somewhat in awe before looking back to the small robot.<br>"Do you have a name...?" I asked hesitantly unsure if it could even, speak let alone if it had a name.  
>"Daia," It said, its voice sounding slightly robotic, yet still distinctly feminine.<br>"Daia...?" I murmured slowly, testing the name out.  
>"My name is Daia, master," It, well, she said again.<br>"Master...?" Dib and I said at the same time.  
>"What do you mean... master...?" I said.<br>"Do you not understand the word?" She asked, sounding almost... confused.  
>"I understand the word…" I said slowly, "But why are you calling me that...?"<br>"You are the first being I saw upon regaining functioning capabilities, I assume you brought me here where your..." She trailed off, looking to be in concentration as she stared at Dib.  
>"Friend," I supplied for her.<br>"Your friend," She continued, "Tended to the necessary repairs,"  
>"You were made by the Irken race right?" Dib asked now that she was talking.<br>"Irken...?" She repeated, her eyes widening as they flashed a dark shade of red. "Yes... my creation was born from the labor of the Irken species," she responded after a moment, her eyes returning to normal.  
>"What is you purpose?" He asked.<br>"My purpose is to serve and obey my master. I must protect my master until I am no longer able to do so,"  
>"And you've chosen me as your master," I stated.<br>"Yes my master,"


	2. Chapter 2

How did I end up at the point where I'm at right now...? Sitting here in Dib's living room, with a highly intelligent robot who calls me master, at one thirty in the morning. Well, let's first start off at the beginning, I am an only child, and I am alone. It didn't use to be that way though; I did have an older brother, his name was Tristen, he was funny, smart, very athletic, captain of the football team intact. I looked up to him, he really was a good guy, he always looked out for his 'little sis' no matter how much I said I didn't need it. Then there were my parents, my father had been the stereotypical, albeit genuine, loveable, oafish, technology repelling father; and my mom, the exact opposite; a brilliant scientist with a quirky disposition, who was, off the job, a total scatterbrain. That was five years ago when everything was almost perfect. Now they were all gone, and I was all that was left of our happy, if somewhat dysfunctional family. My aunt is my sole guardian now and I live with her for the most part. Though ever since the incident five years ago one thing has stayed the same, my friendship with Dib. I guess the reason we even me in the first place was because of our parents. My mother had worked with Dib's father, Professor Membrane, in many of his studies, so sometimes when they would work together she would bring me to his house while they worked in his private lab; and inevitably, Dib and I met and became friends. Sometimes he would try to teach me to fix things like he could, he was very skilled with technology even when he was little, and I would always fail and we'd laugh it off and find something else to do. Maybe that was why he was able to do so well what even robotics engineers probably wouldn't have been able to do, not within the time he had done it today, or with the skill and precision he put into everything he did. Today or really yesterday if I'm being technical, had been like any other day; wake up, go to school, listen to the teacher drone on and on about how miserable our lives were going to be. I briefly wondered if all teachers were like that, Jessica from Mrs. Bane's class said her teacher was one for insulting her students every chance she got. Back to my mental reviewing of the chain of events leading to the here and now, yes, it had all been normal, almost the exact same routine as every other weekday; and then, it wasn't, one small detail changed. So now, as I was still trying to wrap my mind around everything, the little alien robot who called herself Daia sat next to me on the couch watching late night talk shows and infomercials. Right now the TV was showing a commercial for X-Streme stain remover, it worked alright, the stain was definitely gone from the shirt in the demonstration; along with most of the fabric.  
>"Master, aren't you tired?"<br>I looked away from the TV, now showing an AD for McMeaties, and to Daia, her Bright violet eyes now trained on me. "No, not really Daia," I said, propping my head on my hand, "Umm, but, If you don't mind, just call me by my name, k? There's no need for all this 'master' business,"  
>"Oh, alright Luna. But, my data says that Humans require a rest cycle consisting of at least eight hours of sleep per day in order to perform at optimum efficiently,"<br>"Yes, that's correct, but I'm a little different... I don't sleep much at night... Don't worry though, I'm perfectly healthy," I said, giving the robot a slight smile.  
>She seemed to accept this and went back to watching her talk show.<br>After today I'm finally free. I relaxed into the couch slightly, all of the sudden it just felt, cushier. Maybe Daia was right about me needing sleep, I guess its ok, it's morning now... I thought, as my eyelids grew heavier and the voice of the TV announcer grew fainter.


	3. Chapter 3

"Good old Saint Tristan's Academy," I mumbled, entering the school and joining the steady early morning traffic of the bustling hallways. "I'm not quite sure whether I'm gonna miss you or not," I added. Since I had stayed over at Dib's last night I had to borrow my outfit from Gaz, I was wearing a black and purple plaid pleated skirt with chains hanging from both sides, my black ballet flats, and a black and purple tank with thin purple stripes and black fingerless arm warmers with thick purple stripes. I wore a small black and purple skull bow in my hair and wore it down so that it reached my mid back and went over my shoulder on the right side. Over all, it was pretty much my usual style only with less purple and more aqua with the black.  
>"Lulu~!" A high musical voice called from further down the hall. I held back a small smile as I made my way over to my locker where Cassie and Mina were standing, ignoring them at first as I retrieved my books. Bad Idea, that left me vulnerable to Cassie's death hug.<br>"Lulu~! I can't believe your leaving us~!" Cassie whined, still holding onto me and squeezing my ribcage so hard I was sure there would be a bruise later.  
>"Cassie, let the girl breathe," Mina murmured in her soft monotone.<br>"Oh, sorry Lulu, It's just, we're gonna miss you so much!" She wailed, throwing her arms around me again, this time not with enough force to crush my bones. "Do you really have to go~?"  
>"Yes, I've already told you guys about this Cassie," I said, carefully moving out of her arms to stand next to Mina.<br>Mina and Cassie are exact opposites; Cassie was loud, preppy, and loved to give hugs to unsuspecting victims. Her wardrobe consisted of pinks, purples, and yellows in bright and pastel colors; almost always including a skirt or dress and a unicorn somewhere on her person. Mina was a near silent, darkness loving punk-goth type. Her clothes normally consisted of dark colors like black, red, and dark purple and she always had on a pair of black combat boots. Mina was a blond dyed black with purple streaks, where Cassie had light brown curls. Between the two of them Cassie was a force of destruction and Mina was the voice of reason.  
>"It's because your ditching us for your freaky paranormal obsessed friend isn't it?" Cassie wailed.<br>"He's not freaky, he's my friend," I said crossing my arms.  
>"Well what else do we call him? He believes in ghosts and aliens and all that other weird stuff," She mumbled.<br>"Cassie," I started, "Unicorns aren't real,"  
>"W-what? Of course they are! Why does no one ever believe me? One day I'll capture one and show it to you, and then we'll all be best friends!" Cassie shouted, causing a few passerby's to give her strange looks before continuing on their way.<br>"See, Dib believes in the paranormal the same way you believe in unicorns, and how would you feel if you were called weird or a freak for believing so?"  
>"Bad..." Cassie mumbled.<br>"Good, now do you understand?" I asked, talking to her like she were a child at the verge of tears after doing something bad.  
>"Yes Lulu," She said pouting.<br>"Ok then, now let's get to class," I said, linking arms with her, her eyes seemed to light up and she immediately reverted back to her happy bubbly self.  
>"Well, I guess it's not as if we'll never see you again, right Lulu,"<br>"Right, do you really think I would just drop my best friends like it's nothing?" I said, feigning hurt.  
>"O-oh! Never Lulu!" Cassie stuttered.<br>"Alright then, let's make the most of this, it is the last day of school after all," I said with a smile.

"Be sure to text everyday ok?" Cassie said, holding both of my hands in her. It was, as Cassie called it, 'Our final farewell'. We stood in front of the school on the sidewalk while the rest of the summer crazed student body swarmed out of the building in waves.  
>"Every day Cassie?" I asked quizzically.<br>"Yes, every day, we have to know how our Lulu's doing,"  
>I sighed, "Fine, fine, every day," I agreed.<br>"Good," She said, catching me in a hug.  
>"I'm gonna miss you guys," I said.<br>"Awww, Lulu~!" Cassie gushed, "Come on Mina, this is a group hug," She said, pulling the other girl into the hug with some reluctance.  
>"Ok, a little too much emotion for me," Mina murmured after a few long seconds trapped by Cassie.<br>"Yeah, most of which is coming from Cassie," I added.  
>"Oh, sorry," she said sniffling; she finally released us and took a step back, looking sheepish.<br>"I'm going to miss you to," Mina said.  
>I smiled, "Same here,"<br>At that Cassie started wiping at the corners of her eyes, smearing he makeup.  
>"I guess I should go now,"<br>Cassie gave a small sniffle again before saying, "Bye Lulu~! Don't forget to keep in touch!"  
>"Bye," I said, giving a small wave as I walked off.<br>There's so much I need to get done today, at least most of my things have already been moved into the new place. I just need to stop by there and pick up the last few things, but I guess I could do that tomorrow.  
>"Luna," A voice called from ahead of me.<br>"Who...?" I trailed off, seeing that the only thing in front of me was a small black cat with large violet eyes. "Daia...?"  
>The cat walked up to stand directly in front of me, looking straight up into my eyes.<br>"You are back from the place of learning," The cat stated.  
>"Did you follow me?"<br>"Yes, I must be sure you are safe at all times," Daia replied.  
>I let out a soft sigh, "Fine then, let's get going then,"<br>"Where to Luna?"  
>"To meet up with dib at his school,"<p>

"Hey Gaz," I said when Daia and I arrived in front of the skool, she was leaning against the wall in front of the building playing her Game Slave.  
>"Hey," She mumbled.<br>"Where's Dib?" I asked.  
>"He's off trying to save the world or whatever,"<br>"What?" I asked confused.  
>"He's trying to expose Zim as an alien," She said with a roll of her eyes.<br>"Oh," I murmured.  
>"You'll never escape me Zim! There's nowhere you can run to that I won't find you!"<br>"Was that?"  
>"Yeah," Gaz mumbled.<br>"Stupid Dib human! No one can defeat the mighty Zim!"  
>"And that was,"<br>"Uh huh,"  
>I felt my back slam into the wall behind me just before Zim, the one in all the pictures taken by Dib, and Dib himself ran by, right in the spot I had just been standing.<br>"Thanks Daia," I said murmured, realizing the robot had changed into her standard form and pushed me out of the way.  
>So, that was Zim...<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

"Are you sure about just leaving him?" I asked, looking over to Gaz.  
>"Yeah, he won't be back for while anyway." She answered.<br>"Oh, alright then."  
>Bring bring bringgg! Bring bring bringggg! Br-!<br>"Hello?" I asked, holding my cell phone to my ear.  
>'Luna? Where are you?' Came my aunt's worried voice from the earpiece.<br>Sighing I moved the phone to my other ear. "Gaz and I are walking to her house from school, Caren."  
>'What? You're supposed to come to the house to help get settled in,'<br>"Well, you know my after school habits well enough, you should know I wouldn't come straight back to my home, It is my home you know Caren, It's under my family name, not yours, it belonged to the four of us," I stated bluntly.  
>'Alright, but... don't stay out to late,' She said after a long pause.<br>"Fine," I swiftly closed the phone and slipped it back into my pocket.  
>"You really need a new ringtone you know," Gaz said.<br>"Yeah, I know,"

Level Complete. Save game data now? ... Saving game data, saving game data, saving game data. Save complete. Begin level seventeen?  
>I pressed continue just as the front door swung open and a very tired and bruised looking Dib walked in.<br>"Dib? What the hell happened to you?" I asked, abandoning the game controller on the couch and rising to my feet.  
>"Zim happened," He stated bitterly. "I had almost made it into the labs in his base and, ugh! I was so close!"<br>"Dib, what did he do to you...?" I demanded walking to meet him at the front door.  
>"So many rubber piggys'... So many," He mumbled staring off into space.<br>"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," I said, pulling him to the kitchen.  
>"Did the Dib human get injured?" Daia asked from behind me.<br>"Yes, but not too badly, it's mostly just bruises." I said, grabbing a rag and some peroxide from under the sink. I walked over to where Dib was sitting at the table and put them down. I found a box of assorted band aids under the sink too and put them on the table as well.  
>"Do you need assistance master?"<br>"No, I think I've got it, but thanks anyway Daia."  
>The small robot bowed slightly and left the room.<br>"Geez Dib, you're always getting yourself into trouble some way or another," I murmured. "This might sting a little" I said, adding some peroxide to the rag before dabbing it on a few small cuts on Dib's face. He winced a little but let me continue treating him. After I was sure the cuts were clean I put small bandages on the two larger ones, both only being about the length of a nickel.  
>"Thanks," Did said.<br>"No problem," I said. I started to put everything away when I saw the time on the digital clock above the sink. "Crap," I mumbled. "I think I gotta go now, Caren wanted me not to stay out to late tonight for some reason, I guess it has something to do with the move,"  
>"Oh, right, I forgot you were finishing up today,"<br>"Yup, after all these years I finally get to go home," I murmured. "Well, see you tomorrow?"  
>"Yeah, see you,"<br>"Daia," I called, walking into the living room.  
>"Yes, what is it Luna?" She asked, appearing before me in a split second.<br>"We're leaving now. Bye Gaz," I said, heading for the door, Daia following directly behind.

"Luna! There you are, where have you been?"  
>"You know exactly where I've been Caren, and I don't see why it should matter to you now." I stated, walking past my aunt and into the foyer of my home.<br>"Well I- What is that... Thing," She said, wrinkling her nose at the sight of Daia in disguise mode.  
>"Really Caren? I should hope you know what a cat is," I said turning to her. "Her name is Daia and she will be staying with me from now on, end of subject. Now I'm going to my room, good night. Come on Daia." The little robot in disguise gave a convincingly real sounding meow before turning and following me up the stairs.<br>My room had been re-modeled before I officially moved back in; it was a striking change from the pink walls and butterflies from my childhood. There were three dominant colors, black, gray, and aqua. All the furniture was black, the bed frame, headboard, bookshelf-desk, vanity-dresser and the closet doors. Two of the walls were gray, two aqua, and two black, one of the black ones being a chalkboard wall; one of the aqua walls had a detailed black rose painted on it, and the other black wall had a similar aqua rose on it, both of them painted by me. The comforter on the bed had the same colors as the rest of the rest of the room it was decorated with fancy looking crosses and swirls, on top of the bed were a few small pillows and my thirty inch wolf plush, laying at the foot of my bed guarding my room. Along with the basics I had a flat screen mounted to the wall, viewable from the bed and the computer desk which held my laptop, I also had an aqua mini fridge; soon to be stocked with drinks and snacks. I would use this room whenever I was home, hardly ever leaving so I wouldn't have to deal with Caren; she'd probably like that anyway. On second thought, whenever I'm home I'm gonna stay out of my room as much as possible, I won't give her the satisfaction, not in my home...  
>"Umm, I guess you don't really need to sleep, what are you going to do all night?" I asked as I closed and locked the door.<br>Daia looked around the room with her wide violet eyes, stopping on the TV.  
>"You have a video screen," She stated.<br>"You mean the TV?" I asked tilting my head to the side.  
>"Yes, the, TV,"<br>"I guess that answers that question, I'm going to sleep, see you in the morning," I said, tossing pillows on the floor before snuggling under the covers, using the wolf as a pillow. "Oh, the remotes' over there," I said pointing toward the desk. "Goodnight,"  
>"Goodnight Luna," Daia said after a moment.<br>The low murmur of the TV lulled me to sleep again as my mind wandered elsewhere.

Late afternoon light spilled into the foyer from the open front door, the rest of the house was dimly lit, the only light seeming to come from the open basement door further into the house. There was some kind of liquid spilled on the floor coming from the kitchen down the hallway; in the amount of light that there was it looked as black as oil.  
>"Mom?" I called out, slowly walking inside, closing the front door behind me. I hung my rain jacket in the hall closet and moved toward the kitchen. The strange liquid flowed through the doorway and I couldn't avoid walking through it in my rain boots. I stood in the doorway, my left hand reaching for the light switch on the wall.<br>Blood, lots of blood, it was everywhere. Staining their skin and clothes, the floor, it was the liquid I had walked through, that I was standing in. My parent's bodies laid in front of me, sprawled out on the hardwood floor. My mom's blond hair stained scarlet by the pool of blood surrounding them. My dad laid next to her, a kitchen knife in his hand; the both of them had looks of pure horror on their faces, an image which will forever be burned in my memory.  
>Fat tears rolled down my face in rivers, a silent scream was caught in my throat, though I felt like I had already been screaming for forever, my throat felt hot and raw and it was getting harder to breathe...<p> 


	5. Chapter 5

There was screaming, someone was screaming...  
>My lungs felt like they would explode. It was dark, so very dark; I was surrounded by the darkness.<br>'Master... Master...'  
>"Master! Wake up!"<br>I... was the one screaming. At the realization I felt my throat burn, it felt hot and raw... My eyelids snapped open and my hands went to my throat. I had stopped screaming but my breathing was ragged and hot tears streamed down my face. My mouth tasted of blood and some of the warm liquid ran down my throat; I gagged, sitting up and gripping the edge of my nightstand for support.  
>"Master, what happened? Are you in pain?" The robot asked from where she was kneeled on the edge of my bed, her violet eyes trained on me.<br>"N-no..." I winced slightly as the burning increased. "I'm fine, I... I just had a nightmare is all,"  
>"What is a nightmare?" Daia asked, her head tilted to the side in a curious manor.<br>"Well, when humans sleep, they usually have dreams" I started, almost in a whisper to avoid any more discomfort than I had already. "Dreams are good, usually happy images that when you remember them later on seem to make no sense at all. But sometimes we have nightmares, images the exact opposites of dreams, they show you the worst things you can think of played in your mind, your greatest fears or most horrible memories..."  
>"What was your nightmare about master?" Daia asked, moving closer on the bed and adjusting herself so she was sitting cross-legged.<br>"My nightmare... It showed me a memory..." I said staring at the wall. I looked back to Daia again. "My family, they were murdered... Five years ago when I was eight I came home from playing at Dibs house late in the afternoon. When I walked into the house it was strangely quiet and all the lights were off save for the basement light. I walked into the kitchen and flicked on the light switch; there was blood everywhere, my parent's bodies laid dead in front of me their faces twisted into terrified expressions. My dad held a kitchen knife in his lifeless hand. They found my brother's and his girlfriend's bodies on the basement couch just as the credits for the movie they had been watching started to roll. The police labeled it as a murder suicide, saying my dad had done it because the knife he held had my mom's DNA, and blood on it as well. But that didn't explain why my brother's wasn't on it. I know that they were murdered, but not by my dad... I saw the man's face who did it," One day I will find him; I'll kill that sorry bastard who took them away from me!  
>"Luna, I am sorry you had to relive something that brings you such pain," She said, looking at me with sad eyes.<br>"It's ok... I'll be fine,"  
>"Should I go back into disguise mode?"<br>"What...? Why?" I asked confused.  
>"Won't your guardian unit be here to check on you?"<br>I smiled at the robot, a small sad smile. "No, she won't be, this isn't the only time I've had the nightmare. When it was first decided I would stay with her, just after the murder, I had the nightmare every night for at least a month before it would start to come less often. Though even my first night with her, she never came to see if I was ok, never even asked me about it in the morning. I would scream my throat raw from the fear and loss it brought on and she would act like she had never heard it and go about her business. She's never cared about me,"  
>The room was silent for a moment before Daia's small arms wrapped loosely around me.<br>"Daia, what are you doing?" I asked.  
>"Is this not a human custom to give comfort?" She asked.<br>"You mean a hug?"  
>"Yes, a... hug,"<br>I felt a small smile tugging at my lips and hugged back. "Yes, I guess it is," I said answering her earlier question. "Daia, what time is it?"  
>She pulled away, her eyes flashed red for a fraction of a second. "Six twenty-four."<br>I sighed and stretched my arms above my head. "Guess I should be getting up now," I mumbled, stifling a yawn that surely would have brought the burning back to my throat.  
>"Are we going to the Dib human's house again as planned?"<br>"Yeah, just as soon as I'm done getting ready. You might want to go back into disguise mode if you plan on leaving the room, just in case Caren hasn't left for work yet."  
>I walked to my closet and picked out what I would wear for the day. After a minute of sifting through everything I tossed a long black tee onto my bed, on the front it had a light purple skull and crossbones and the back was slightly longer than the front and had purple lace trim, on each of the sleeves was a silver zipper; With that I tossed a pair of dark denim jeans. I walked down the hall to the bathroom to take a quick shower and wash the dried tears from my face.<p>

When I came downstairs I found that Caren had already left for work and that there was an undisguised Daia and a plate of waffles waiting for me in the kitchen.  
>"Daia, you made this?"<br>"Yes, is it... not acceptable...?" She asked, sounding disappointed.  
>"No, it looks really good, thanks," I said taking a seat; Daia took the seat across from me.<br>It felt oddly quiet in the small kitchen this morning, I usually spent my mornings alone anyway, but now with someone to talk to and no conversation, it felt strange. My new robot companion seemed... distracted, she rested her head on her hand and was staring intently at a spot on the tabletop.  
>"Daia, what are you thinking about?" I asked.<br>"Huh?" She seemed to blink her eyes a few times in surprise before she realized I had asked her something. "I'm sorry, what did you ask?" She said, her posture straightening, her eyes on me again.  
>"I asked what you were thinking about,"<br>"Oh, well I was thinking about the male student the Dib human was chasing after yesterday,"  
>"You mean Zim?"<br>"Yes, Zim, I am fairly positive he is Irken,"  
>"Irken? You mean the alien race that built you?" I asked, leaning forward slightly in my seat.<br>"Yes, the very same,"  
>"So do all Irkens have green skin..?"<br>"Every one of them,"  
>"What else?" I asked, completely forgetting my breakfast.<br>"Well, if he really is Irken then he should have black antenna, but eye color can vary from purple to red,"  
>Interesting, I hadn't quite been sure if I believed Zim was an alien despite how many times Dib told me, though I didn't think he was normal either. But with finding Daia and all the information she had given, the fact that it actually made some sense...<br>"Reddy to go?" I asked, taking my plate to the sink.  
>Daia nodded and went into disguise mode and we left the house behind.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

"Ugh, god I'm so tired," I mumbled, taking a sip from the foam coffee cup in my hand. "Shit!" I cried out, scalding coffee burning my tongue. "Great, now they decide to start serving coffee that's actually hot," I grumbled, "I don't even know why I go to that place anyway, I already have a coffee machine at home..." I sighed and flipped open the vent in the plastic lid. Moving the coffee to the other hand, I used the previously occupied one to adjust Daia's leash, moving it onto my wrist. I personally found it odd that by state law I must have my 'cat' on a leash at all times when out in public; I mean, dogs, alright, but who's ever seen someone out walking their cat...? At least, that didn't happen where I used to live with Caren. But then again, who obeys the law anyway? All you have to worry about as far as disciplinary action goes is getting tased with a big pointy spear or thrown into jail with some buff guy with tattoos named Slamey because you out of 50 other people were caught littering. Yeah, no one obeys the law at all.  
>Taking a left into a residential area I walked past six other houses before stopping at the seventh. I walked down the front path, past the electric fences, stopping on the doorstep and turning to my left to a keypad on the side of the house; after imputing the twelve digit pass code and pressing a small green button the doorbell inside the house rang. The keypad was designed by Professor Membrane to keep away unwanted persons and solicitors; if they either input the wrong pass code or simply rang the decoy bell then they would receive a powerful electric shock, and normally they wouldn't be stupid enough to try it again.<br>The door opened a moment later revealing Gaz, as per usual, with Game Slave in hand. Over the time we've known each other she had developed a tolerance of me, mainly because she didn't find me annoying, well, as annoying as she found others, and because I wasn't, as she put it, 'A freak like her brother,'.  
>"Hey," She said, "Dibs' in his room," She informed, already on her way back to the couch.<br>"Thanks," I said, walking in with Daia, the door automatically closed and locked itself as we made our way upstairs.  
>"Morning," I say, leaning on the threshold to Dib's room. Said scythe haired boy was currently leaned over his desk with a mass of parts, wires, and tools before him.<br>"Morning," He replied, removing a pair of tinted goggles from his eyes; he replaced them with his glasses and turned his chair to face me. "What's up?"  
>I bit my lip nervously, unconsciously playing with the tab on my coffee lid. "I was thinking, you know a lot about the ones who created Daia right?"<br>"You mean the Irkens? I know more than any other human on earth, why?"  
>"Well, the topic kind of came up this morning, but Daia doesn't know that much about them and I'm... Curious,"<br>"Really?" He asked sounding excited.  
>"Yeah, I've only heard a little from what you and Daia have told me so far,"<br>"I would also like to know more of the race whom is responsible for my creation," Daia said, now undisguised.  
>"Alright then," Dib said, motioning for us to sit down on the bed.<p>

"Wait, so, they're a race bent on galactic conquest, and their leaders are chosen by how tall they are...?"  
>"Basically, yes,"<br>"I don't understand..." Daia said to herself.  
>"What don't you understand?" Dib asked.<br>"I understand what you've told me, but I just thought that by learning more about my creators I would regain my... my memory" Said Daia, "If I even have any," She added.  
>"It could be that you were never active until you arrived on this planet," Dib suggested.<br>"Perhaps," She looked slightly saddened at that possibility.  
>"Well, whether or not Dib's theory is true, I'll do all that I can to help you either regain your memory or learn the truth," I said smiling at her.<br>"Really?" She asked looking up to me.  
>"Really,"<br>"Thank you, Luna."  
>"No problem, we're friends after all," Then, for the first time, Daia smiled. The moment was ruined however by the shrill ringing of my phone.<br>"Oh lord," I mumbled under my breath. "Hey Cassie," I said into the receiver.  
>"Lulu~! Why haven't you texted me yet~?"<br>I sighed, "Cassie, I just saw literally saw you less than twenty four hours ago, and I would have texted you later,"  
>"Somebody can go missing or find a cute hook-up in less than twenty-four hours Lulu~!"<br>"Geeze, you're like an over protective lover aren't you," I said it more as a statement than a question though.  
>She gasped, "Lulu!"<br>I cracked a smile, "It's true,"  
>"Hmph! Whatever... So, where are you?"<br>"Your only proving my point," I said smirking. "I'm hanging out with Dib,"  
>"With him? Why aren't you hanging out with me and Mina?" She asked, I could just imagine her pouting on the other end of the line.<br>"You know Mina doesn't want to be dragged around the mall on a Saturday Cassie, she would kill you," I said, smile returned.  
>"Nuh uh," She mumbled. "Just don't forget to text next time k?"<br>"Sure, sure, I won't forget, bye,"  
>"Bye Lulu!"<br>"I wanna go back to bed," I mumbled, replacing my phone back in my pocket and leaning against the wall, eyes closed.  
>"Go ahead, nothings stopping you," Dib said.<br>I opened one eye. "Hmm, I don't know if I trust falling asleep in here, how can I be sure you won't try anything?" I said jokingly.  
>"Y-you know I would never-"<br>"Save it, I know you wouldn't, I was joking, relax. And I know Daia would prevent that possibility anyway, right?" I asked looking to the robot.  
>"Right," She said, her eyes glowing red as she said this.<br>"Alright then, good night," I said, lying down on the bed and letting my mind wander before I fell into sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

I hated that before even stepping through the doorway I already had everyone's attention; no one even spared a glance at Dib who walked in first. Damn that freak McMeaties truck accident on first street... At least the teacher was running late too, they wouldn't be able to call me out in front of the class.  
>I nudged Dib in the side to get him to walk to a seat instead of standing unmoving in front of the class. There were only two seats open so he took the one in the front row by the window and I took the front row, third one in by the door. On my right two seats over was Zim, glaring intently at Dib; he must have caught me staring, he glanced my way giving me an almost confused look before going back to glaring across the room. I frowned slightly but otherwise decided to ignore the rest of the class.<br>I forgot to text Cassie today so I sent her a short message while the room around me delved into total chaos. Luckily, or rather unluckily for me, school started earlier for us here than at Saint Tristian's so Cassie would just be waking up. Otherwise my inbox would be full with messages by the next hour.  
>I slipped my phone back into my pocket just as the lady whom I assumed would be our teacher walked in. She was old and wrinkled with silver hair tied into a tight bun and glasses that glinted in the light obscuring her eyes, she had a permanent scowl on her face and when she moved she seemed to be made of shadows. The class instantly quieted and a few murmurs of 'she's back' 'It can't be' and a few disbelieving 'No's were heard.<br>"I see some of you miserable excuses for future members of society have managed to make it as far as the eighth grade," The teacher crowned in a gravely voice. "For those of you who I've had the privilege of never meeting before today, you will address me as Ms. Bitters. From now on I don't want to hear another sound from any of you."  
>Well she seems just as nice as Dib described her as being. Oh joy, now I get to have her as my teacher too...<br>"These forms must be signed by your parents and brought back tomorrow, or else I will fail you all." Bitters said as a thick stack of papers fell from the ceiling onto each student's desk. Looks like Caren has some homework to get done, no wonder this is her least favorite week of the year. I smirked slightly as I shoved the papers into my messenger bag; the only downside was I'd be lugging the extra weight around all day and the stack weighed a ton.  
>Once the forms were given out our teacher stationed herself at her desk, glaring at the occasional student or any squirrel who decided to perch by the window. After that the class resumed into it's previous chaos despite Ms. Bitters' earlier warning.<br>My phone let out a low chime alerting me of a new text message.  
>'Morning Lulu~! How ya liking the new school? :)' Taping reply on the screen I typed in a quick response. 'It's ok so far, I don't think it's only teachers at St Trist that are, not rly people persons tho "^^'<br>'Ohhh, so it wasn't just a fluke o.o anyway, anyone u know in ur class? Is that Dib kid there?'  
>'Yes Dib is in my class, &amp; he's not a kid, he's our age remember "-,-'<br>'Yeah, yeah -,- So Lulu, u free today? ;)'  
>'Yeahhh... ._.'<br>'Great! Ok, so I'll pick u up at 3! ;P'  
>'Wait! What? O.o'<br>'Yeah, we're going 2 the mall silly ;)'  
>'What? I never agreed to this! O.O'<br>'Mkay, so, I gotta get rddy 4 school now, ttyl! ;P'  
>That sneaky little... Well, I guess I have plans now. It was always like this with Cassie, she made your plans for you days in advance and didn't tell you what you had apparently agreed to until the day of. One time there was a party being held in the next state over she'd known about for weeks, then all of the sudden she shows up at your apartment and forces you into a skirt and tank top, telling you about how great this party's gonna be while she does your makeup and hair. But, that's Cassie for you, random and often times... unexpected. My phone chimed again, alerting me of another new message. Oh great, what did you forget to tell me this time Cassie? Oh, it's from Dib.<br>Now that we were in middle school no one passed notes anymore, even if the person was right next to you or two seats away everyone texted.  
>'Having fun? :|'<br>'Nope ^^ u?'  
>'None at all :)'<br>'lol, kinda hard 2 hav fun in skool tho ya kno? ;)'  
>'Yeah, don't even know why I asked "^^ By the way, what was up with that look Zim gave you earlier?'<br>'Idk o.o He looked... confused, but I don't kno why. Though it was a lot less volatile than some of the looks u were getting, whats up with that anyway? o.o'  
>'Well, because of him being an alien bent on destroying the earth and me trying to stop him, that would be my guess, we both kind of hate each other...'<br>'Oh, well... that would make a reasonable explanation.'  
>After that we stopped texting, there were only a few minutes till the next class change, and eventually, lunch.<p>

The sounds of talking and laughter, and the scraping of chairs against linoleum crescendo-ed the closer we got to the cafeteria doors. Ahead of Dib and I was a group of jocks, all wearing gold and red team jackets. I'm surprised we have athletic programs at all here seeing as how the school was run.  
>"After you beautiful," One of the jocks said giving me a cheesy grin as he held the door back.<br>"Thanks," I said simply, grudgingly returning the gesture with a small smile as I walked by. Dib narrowly avoided letting his face get acquainted with the door as the jock let the door go when I walked by. I stopped for a second so he could catch up, mumbling "Meat head," under my breath as we walked to the line. Dib got a small laugh out of it and otherwise shook it off.  
>"That- that is supposed to be food...?" I said, gawking at the black furry sludge pooled on Dib's lunch tray.<br>"Yep! Looks good doesn't it?" He asked with a crooked smile.  
>"I think I'll pass," I said, moving to let the other people in the line get their filth. I stayed next to Dib as we moved slowly down the lunch line letting my eyes roam over the rest of the cafeteria. I saw Gaz playing her gameslave at one of the tables by the window, and that annoying Danielle girl from second period, and Zim, alone at a table by himself glaring down at his lunch tray. Well, I wouldn't blame him for not wanting to eat it, I wasn't going to either. Though everyone else seemed to be eating their hairy black slime and at least somewhat enjoying it. I grimaced watching one of the jocks scarfing down three trays of the stuff.<br>"I think I'm gonna be sick..." I said half serious, turning away from the scene so I could follow Dib to the table. Dib took a seat next to Gaz, I could have sworn her scowl deepened, and I sat next to Dib. To my surprise Dib actually tried eating that black crud. I felt my stomach turn and rested my head above the table supporting myself on my folded arms; long blond strands collected over my shoulder and disappeared under the tabletop. I raised my eyes to see above my arm, surveying the cafeteria. Again I found Zim catching my eye, was it because of the strange green tint to his skin? Or maybe because he just seemed so different from everyone else. Though that was probably a good thing, most of the people here seemed like they were completely brainless, cloned from the stereotypical categories of society, keeping it's population in somewhat of a drunken stupor. It was good to be different from them, the oblivious and the blind.  
>Again he met my stare and I felt slightly self conscious, my skin crawled and my stomach gave a squeeze as it sometimes does when one person is caught staring at another like I had been. Even more so because it was the second time, I felt wrong for it and averted my eyes so I was looking back down at the table through the darkness.<br>"Hmph, the aliens looking over here, he's got to be planning something!" Dib's exclamation came muffled to my ears by my arms surrounding my head. "Hey, Luna, are you ok?" He asked laying a hand on my shoulder.  
>"Yeah, my stomach just feels a little weird is all, I think I'm gonna go see if the nurse has something."<br>"Ok, do you want me to walk you there?"  
>I stood from my chair, "No I'll be fine on my own, see you in class," I said, walking toward the doors all the while feeling two sets of eyes on me, the skin crawling feeling came back as I neared Zim's table. I quickened my pace slightly until I was out in the hallway behind closed doors.<br>The cafeteria food still had my stomach feeling queasy but I decided to skip the nurse and wait out the rest of lunch in the school's small library.


End file.
